Don't Fear the Reaper
by javamomma0921
Summary: Halloween in Philly is a month long affair. Edward is hunting among the freaks and geeks on South Street when he spies her. Traditional vampires, very mature content. OOC Edward.


**All Hallow's Eve Contest**

**Penname: **Javamomma0921

**Title:** Don't Fear the Reaper

**Word Count:** 9054 (without header)

**Pairing**: Edward/Bella

**Summary:** Halloween in Philly is a month long affair. Edward is hunting among the freaks and geeks on South Street when he spies her. Traditional vampires, very mature content. OOC Edward.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Twilight_ or Edward; SM does. I only own the desire to make him dark, hot, and naked.

**Warning:** This story contains a traditional vampire who hunts humans. If the thought of Edward killing someone offends you, this probably isn't going to do it for you. If however, you find dark traditional vampires hot, by all means, proceed. ;)

***O*O*O***

_Then the door was opened and the wind appeared_

_The candles blew and then disappeared_

_The curtains flew and then he appeared_

_Said "And don't be afraid…"_

_And she ran to him_

_And they started to fly_

_She had become like they are_

_She had taken his hand_

_Come on baby_

_Don't fear the reaper._

_**Blue Oyster Cult, "Don't Fear the Reaper"**_

***O*O*O***

_They were everywhere._

_All around me, their pink blushes would tempt me—tease me—until I could no longer stop myself from touching. The rich bouquet of their blood called to me unceasingly. And I never denied my thirst for long._

_The chase drew me almost as much as the final taste._

_Every one of them was achingly beautiful to me. Luring them was my game. Seducing them was my pastime. I wooed them, brought them to my bed, and loved them. I gave them pleasure before the pain. I would sing them to sleep … and then I killed them._

***O*O*O***

_Philadelphia, October 22, 2010_

The only thing that was different about South Street around Halloween was the costumes. Even they weren't terribly different from the outlandish things the regulars usually wore … just more honest. It was as if the freaks took the masks _off_ around Halloween and let everyone inside their twisted heads. Not that they could ever hide from me.

The locals here knew how to draw out a party. In the weeks before All Hallow's Eve, they'd host party after party just for an excuse to drink and grind, dress up and then get naked. I couldn't blame them either; Halloween was a damn fine holiday.

I could usually blend into the sea of humanity fairly well, despite being cold, sparkly, and undead. But I refused to put on fake fangs or dress up just to fit in. I shrugged past the humans as they glanced leeringly at my beat up leather jacket and torn jeans. I looked the same tonight as I did every other night. And though it drew more attention to me, I wasn't bothered by their glances. They would never truly guess what I was.

I wouldn't classify the 21st century as my favorite century—a vampire just didn't get the same respect today as he did in the sixteenth or seventeenth century—but modern times had their perks. For instance, my red eyes used to be a dead giveaway to all the superstitious bumpkins walking around. When I'd slip and let them see my eyes, I would be forced to make quick work of killing them before they did something foolish like raise a pitchfork army against me. Now, no one gave me a passing glance. Colored contacts were all the rage, and people just took me for an eccentric.

I also had to give modern times major "props" for the sexual revolution among women. _That_ had been quite useful to me. Constantly being forced to woo my prey for months at a time before getting them naked bored me. I often bit them before I got all I wanted from them. The game was much more efficient in the present day. It took me a week at the most before these modern beauties were writhing in my bed, begging me to fuck them senseless. And I did … though likely not in the way they expected.

Tonight, I was hunting. The humans looked at me, drawn to me despite the terror coiling in their stomachs. I could see it in their minds, the fleeting fear that they pushed away as quickly as it came. Their patent denial of their natural instincts was so useful to me. It was almost too easy. When I found my target, I didn't have to worry about fear driving them away. I didn't even need to work for them. I simply stood and stared … they always came to me.

_Mmm … wonder what he'd look like without the leather jacket_…

_That hair. I just want to touch it._

_God, it should be illegal to be that hot._

_Nothing new tonight_, I thought as I walked among the throng of women and picked thoughts from their brains. Really, it never got old hearing how attractive they found me. Knowing I was irresistible to them made the hunt so much easier.

I found a light pole and leaned against it, beginning to look more closely at my potential prey. There were women dressed as sexy devils, sexy nurses, sexy witches, and of course, the obligatory sexy vampires. The wanna-be vamps pissed me off. So cliché: pale skin, fake blood, fake fangs … It was all so ridiculous. They'd get closer if they'd dust themselves in glitter powder and pop in red contacts.

I was honing in on thoughts now, trying to find the one who was the most ready, the most willing, the easiest, when I spotted her. She was nearly a block and a half away and would have been lost in a sea of meaningless faces were it not for my perfect eyesight. I mistook her for a helpless wraith at first with her pale skin shimmering in the fake neon lights and her wide dark eyes looking wildly around. I had an unnerving urge to run to her, shelter her from the world around her. Only my years of control kept my back against the light pole as I watched her, waiting for her to get closer and notice me.

She was wearing skintight black jeans and a cropped black t-shirt with sparkly writing across the chest. It said _**PUSSY**_ in bold letters. She'd made a black smudge on her nose and drawn shaky lines across her cheeks for whiskers. There was glitter across her cheekbones and in her hair. The cheap black ears she wore sat askance on her head. As my eyes raked over her and I became more and more familiar with the curves she had on display, I caught the blue collar around her neck, a ruby eyed cat dangling from the chain. She was wearing a fucking collar. I wanted her … and being a cocky bastard of a vampire, I was certain I would have her.

I scanned, waiting to hear her thoughts. There was nothing. I furrowed my brow, causing the humans around me to unconsciously give me a wider berth as I tried to focus in on her. She was like dead space to me. Looking at her, trying to read her thoughts, was like looking at a cardboard cutout and trying to see its thoughts. There was simply nothing there. My lips curled in frustration, and I felt the growl of aggravation rolling in my chest. Now the humans were openly reacting to me. I could smell the fear, and it darkened my eyes.

That's when she looked at me. It was almost as if she could hear the low growl, certainly inaudible to her at this distance. Her dark eyes dilated and narrowed in on me. At once, two things happened. The noises around me ceased to buzz in my ears, leaving only the silence of her; and the wind shifted, blowing her hair around her face and her scent in my direction.

It hit me with the force of a freight engine. As my senses filled with her perfume—and I knew with certainty that it was hers—my vision shifted to a murderous red. I could see myself reflected in the horrified faces of the humans around me. Black irises, ringed in fiery red, stood out from the pale bruised skin around my eyes. My nostrils flared; my lips curled, revealing my bright white, razor sharp teeth. I had become the monster.

In a flash of leather and denim, I flew away from the crowded streets and away from the scent. Those closest to me would wonder at the sight of the man who seemed to fly through the air. But their minds wouldn't allow them to think about it for long; they would dismiss it within seconds, and I would be forgotten. But would everyone forget? Something in the girl's alluringly dark eyes told me she would remember me.

I found my way to a dark alley where a drunk sorority girl was stumbling home, holding her shoes in her hand. I heard the sound of her soft sobbing and knew she would be pliant. I drew in a deep breath. The scent of her was almost repulsive compared to the deliciously rich, perfect aroma that I knew I would find only a few miles away. I shook my head, dispelling the monster from my head and listened to her thoughts. Her date had left the party, drunk, with one of her "sisters." She was drunk, horny, and put out with the guy who was supposed to take care of that. She didn't think it was fair that Stephie with her fake tits had gotten the guy who was supposed to be hers. She snuffled loudly, and I swallowed my distaste. I needed to hunt; I might as well have some fun while I did it.

I crept close to her, remaining silent until I was immediately behind her. I reached around her neck, and she hissed when my cold fingers touched her warm skin.

"He doesn't know what he's missing," I breathed into her ear. "But you…you won't be missing _anything._"

Her brown hair whipped around as she turned to face me. Her drink-addled mind was racing through names, trying to place my face. I fanned my breath across her nose, and all of her thoughts ceased. Her blue eyes darkened and I felt her lean against me. She dropped her shoes as I pressed my lips against hers, closing my eyes and imagining the pink rosebud lips of the other girl. I picked her name out of her head, Christina, and moaned it into her mouth as she snaked her arms around my neck.

She let me back her against a dirty wall, her fingers crawling through my hair and making my hard skin bristle at her indelicate touch. She wasn't hurting me of course, but she was doing nothing to turn me on either. When I had her against the wall, I lifted her up, and she willingly wrapped her legs around me. _Oh, my God. Oh, God. He's so cold, but God, so hot. Will he touch me? I think he's going to touch me. I don't fucking care if I don't know his name, just fucking touch me already. _I trailed my tongue down her neck, making her throw her head back and buck her hips against me. Even the friction against my dick only had me half-mast. This wasn't what I wanted.

I cupped her overly large tit in my hand and breathed against it, bringing the nipple to a peak. She was writhing against me and something, somewhere in me knew it was strange that nothing she was doing was working. Somehow, I knew that something was very, very wrong.

"Mmm, God, you don't know what you're doing to me," she moaned, her fingers raking down my chest, looking for purchase, but finding none.

"Yes, I do," I whispered.

I held her upper body with one hand and traced my fingers over her chest and teased her stomach.

"A real man knows exactly what every touch does to a woman," I said. "Nothing is left to chance. You moan when I want you to moan. You come when I want you to come."

Like a good girl, she moaned as I spoke, just as I knew she would, and I smiled. I moved my hands around her hips and over her ample ass, slipping my fingers underneath the hem of her dress.

"Oh, God, yes, please…touch me."

Her breathing was staggered, panting gasps. I knew she wouldn't take long, and I was already bored of her. I moved her farther up the wall, holding her tightly as I brushed the edges of her panties.

"Yes…ungh…God. Right there. Just…ungh…touch my pussy!"

The word set off a series of images in my mind: tight black jeans and crop top…a glittery blush and dark, narrowed eyes…_that scent_. Something snapped inside of me, and I growled. Christina stopped panting and moaning immediately and looked at me clearly for the first time. She saw the monster, and I saw it through her suddenly sober, fear-soaked thoughts. But it was too late. I covered her mouth as it opened in a perfect "O" and sunk my teeth into her jugular. Her blood flowed hot and coppery over my tongue teasing me with the hint of what that other blood could do for me.

She slumped to the ground, pale and drained, and I backed away in distaste. I wasn't even close to slaked. I could still smell the other girl's scent in my memory, and I _wanted_ it on my tongue. Looking around, I found the nearest dumpster and left the body. With any luck, she'd never be found. And even if she was, no one would ever guess the nature of her death. Thank fuck for modern science and the death of superstition.

***O*O*O***

It was one in the morning, and I was back on South Street, standing against the same light post like a strung out junkie needing a hit. At that moment, that's what I was. I wanted to see her, taste her scent on my tongue as it wafted through the air toward me, plunge myself into her and then eat her alive. I half hoped she wouldn't show, not knowing what I should expect from myself if I saw her again or got close enough to touch her. I had never, in my nearly four hundred years, allowed the blood lust to consume me so much that I risked exposure. But I knew with deadly certainty that she could undo everything I had made for myself. What's more, I almost wanted her to if only for a taste.

I couldn't listen for her thoughts, and I was driving myself mad, looking for her in the sea of freaks and geeks streaming down the streets. Now, after midnight, almost all of them were completely drunk and pawing each other as they walked along the street. They weren't above pawing me as well. They couldn't know how dangerous it was to tempt me right now.

She came when I least expected, sometime just after three when I had given up hope of seeing her again. I leaned my head against the post, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose as I tried to drown out the idiotic, inebriated thoughts that were filtering into my brain. I would need to leave.

Suddenly, my mind washed in a sea of red, and her scent wrapped around me, enveloping me. I felt her touch burning through my jacket, and on instinct, I ceased breathing. When I opened my eyes, she was inches from my side.

"Oh, you are real, then," she said. "I thought maybe you were just a figment of my imagination when you flew away before."

Her breath fanned the delicious scent around me, making my mouth wet with venom. What's more, the feel of her soft fingers on my coat did for me what all of the writhing from earlier couldn't begin to do; I was straining at the seams of my jeans, aching to snatch her and run to the nearest alley.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said through clenched teeth.

"Sure you do," she insisted, coming around in front of me and looking me directly in the eyes. "You took off like a bat out of hell earlier tonight. I know it was you because I remember the jacket."

"The jacket?"

"Yeah…the skulls are fuck hot."

My cock twitched, and she smirked as if she knew.

"So…where did you go?" she asked.

"Why do you care?"

"Jeez, are you always this rude?"

She turned around and was about to walk away. I couldn't let that happen. I flashed around in front of her so that she gasped in surprise.

"How did you do that?"

"It doesn't matter," I muttered. I was making too many mistakes. "I'm sorry I was rude."

"Whatever," she said and looked down, muttering under her breath in what was supposed to be too low for my ears. "You're hot enough to get away with that, I guess."

I was smirking at her when she looked up, and she blushed deliciously. I wondered if she knew how turned on and thirsty she was making me. Frankly, she was playing with her life just by talking to me…did she even understand that? _Of course she didn't_, I reminded myself.

"What's your name…or should I just call you The Reaper?"

I looked at her confused for a moment; it was very disarming to have to try to discern her mental leaps without reading her thoughts. I had no idea why she would compare me to the Grim Reaper.

"The skulls?" she asked, poking her finger at my chest and answering as if _she_ could read _my_ thoughts. "They remind me of the Grim Reaper."

I shook my head and laughed.

"Edward," I said finally. "I'm Edward. And you are?"

"Edward? That's an old fashioned name…"

She squinted at my eyes for a second too long, and I felt fear. _Could she…guess?_ I would never know because I couldn't see inside her mind, and the unknown sent cold waves of uncertainty through my body. Perhaps _I_ was playing with my life as well.

"It's a classic," I said, spreading my hands in front of me and smiling brightly.

I knew what my smile could do to women; hell, it was one of the many reasons I always got what I wanted from them. However, I hadn't counted on this girl's reaction to it.

Just as before, her eyes darkened considerably, the pupils dilating, making them almost as black as mine could get. My eyes darkened in response to the mixture of her scent and her arousal, which were now filling the air around me. Instead of backing away when she saw my red-ringed irises, she stepped closer, bringing her bloodstained cheeks and plump lips closer to my face. Darting my tongue along my lower lip, I could taste her scent in the air, and it made my chest rumble with desire. I sucked in a deep, burning breath and closed my eyes as the thirst threatened to overtake me.

"What's your name? Or should I just call you…Pussy?"

She moaned softly, nearly inaudibly, at the sound of desire in my voice. My hands reached out and sought out her fingers. They were there, burning me with their heat. It didn't escape me that all around, humans were watching us with mingled humor and horror. Some of the drunker males wanted to step between the seemingly fragile girl and the man who looked ready to devour her. That would be a foolish misstep, and I was pleased none of them acted on it. No one would be getting between the yet unnamed beauty now grasping my fingers with all of her strength and me.

"I'm Bella," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "What are you?"

There it was; the question that should have made me sweep her into my arms and run away with her to have her and then kill her. But I didn't. I stood there, surrounded by witnesses, and allowed her to reach up and touch my face. I let her lean into my body and drink in my scent the way I wished to do with hers. And then I let her kiss me. Clearly, I was going insane.

***O*O*O***

I didn't kill Bella when she kissed me, though I came close to fucking her in front of everyone on South Street. God, the feel of her tongue sliding into my mouth, completely undid me and made me hungry for more of her. She clawed her fingers into my hair, pulling herself closer to me, and I forgot to be gentle with her. In my haste and excitement, I ripped one of the buckle loops from her skinny jeans. It broke the spell. She pulled away and slipped her hands into her back pockets, looking around the street in humiliation.

"You ought to be careful with that," she murmured.

"Careful? Me? You kissed me!"

"Ha!" she uttered harshly. "Only because you made me. You're a snake charmer or some shit. You ought to wear a warning or something."

I chuckled lowly, completely captivated by the anomaly of a woman standing in front of me. At once, she was seduced and seducing, tempted and temptress. I wanted more. I reached out to her, but she stepped away, shaking her head.

"No, no. I don't think that's such a smart idea," she said, her bell-like voice shaky and still full of desire.

"Why? You know you want more."

I lowered my eyelids, leveling her with my most seductive smile. I saw the weakening in her knees. I gauged the minuscule darkening of her eyes and the renewed blush in her cheek. I smelled the bloom of her arousal in the air, mingling with her intoxicating scent. The growl was unintentional, but I was unable to stop it.

"I don't know what you are, Edward, but you're definitely dangerous. And you are definitely not in my best interest."

"You keep saying that…what do think I am, Bella?"

I let my breath cover her, hoping to distract her thoughts. Though I couldn't see inside her mind, I could watch the process on her face. Her eyes became glassy, unfocused for a moment, and I thought it was working. Then, she shook her head and drew in a deep, unsteady breath of city air. Her eyes cleared, and she focused very steadily on one of the skulls on my jacket.

"You are something out of the dark," she said, her finger tracing the stitched edges of the skull and her voice trancelike. "You might be a dream or a nightmare…but you can't be real."

"Baby, I promise you. I'm real," I whispered, my voice calm and not betraying my discomfort.

_She's too fucking close_, my mind screamed at me. Rationally, I knew this. I knew she was too close to guessing. Irrationally, I pushed that voice away, desperate for another moment with her.

She looked up at me, and her eyes betrayed her defenselessness for a moment.

"Will you disappear again when the morning comes?"

Her voice was childlike, and it awakened something within my long-still heart. I didn't know what it was yet, but it sat unwelcome within my chest. It made it more difficult to breathe than her intoxicating scent.

"No," I murmured, sad without understanding why. "Of course I won't disappear. I'm not a mythological creature after all."

_What in the name of all that's holy are you doing?_ I screamed at myself, my face remaining impassive. Bella's smile simply turned into a smirk.

"OK, so if you're not going to disappear, I don't have to either, right?" she asked sweetly.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think I want to walk away from you," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Did you put a spell on me?"

"Now I'm a sorcerer?"

"I don't know what you are…but I _will_ figure you out. Where are we going?"

"Don't you need to…sleep? Go home? Find your friends?"

I was disturbed to find myself wanting her to walk away from me so that I wouldn't kill her. But of course, she shook her head and slipped her hand through my arm.

"Nope. I'm all yours. No one will ever miss me."

"All mine," I said darkly as I led her down the street. "How very tempting indeed."

I took her to the Art Museum steps where we sat and watched the fountains play. I took her to the Liberty Bell where we scared the pigeons. We watched the city waking up, the buses and trolleys and loud-mouthed people coming alive and starting their days. And then, when she was little more than sleepwalking, God help me, I took her to my home.

She was stumbling, mumbling incoherently when we arrived at my house near dawn. I knew she had likely been awake for nearly an entire day. When she saw my door, she began humming.

"I saw a red door and I want it painted black," she sang tunelessly. "A red door seems so foolishly garish."

"It's traditional, Bella," I said as I opened the door and stepped inside. "Many of the houses in this neighborhood have red doors."

"Then many of the houses are foolishly garish," she mumbled, tripping over the doorway and into my arms.

Her scent wafted around me as I gathered her to me, and she nestled herself in my arms. She was asleep in seconds. I looked wildly around, unsure of what to do and then shut the door behind us. Her hand had crept under the folds of my jacket and up my chest until she found the bare skin peeking out of my black t-shirt. She sighed contentedly as she swirled her fingers against my chest, nearly driving me insane with desire. But for once, I didn't feel compelled to act on the desire. I flashed up the stairs of the house to my third floor bedroom and laid her in the middle of the monstrous bed.

It dwarfed her in black silk and gold brocade fabric, but to me, she took over the entire room. When I laid her down and saw that she would stay asleep, I hurried to the bathroom to get towels to wash her face. I guessed she wouldn't want the black makeup to stain her face, and I was anxious to see her without the drawn on whiskers and nose. The makeup came off with just a few passes of the towel, and I was surprised by the way her skin continued to glow despite the glitter being wiped away.

I sat, perched in an antique rocking chair, folded in on myself as I watched her dream in my bed. She was exquisite, breathtaking, and terribly dangerous. I guessed that she would wake up, the thrill of meeting me last night worn away, and she would be horrified at having slept in my bed last night. I refrained from trying to make her more comfortable for fear she would leap to conclusions about what I did to her while she slept. She made me _guess_. I hadn't had to guess in over four hundred years.

After several hours of keeping a statue-like vigil over her, she began to stir. She was a restless sleeper, so at first I didn't recognize the signs of her waking up. But when her heart began to beat faster and her breathing rate increased, I realized she was about to wake up. Something close to fear settled in my stomach, and I beat it down with all of the force I could muster. Who _was_ this human girl to make me feel fear?

She rolled on the bed so that her hand seemed to be reaching out for me. That was impossible though; she likely didn't even remember where she was.

"Edward," she mumbled, her eyes fluttering.

_What?_

Her eyes opened, and when she saw me sitting awkwardly in the chair, she smiled. I couldn't help but return her smile, happy that she hadn't run in terror at seeing a strange man watching her sleep.

"Did you sleep in the chair?" she asked sleepily.

I furrowed my brow for an instant, unsure what she meant and again frustrated with not being able to see into her thoughts.

"Oh, of course not," I replied. "I slept in the other room."

"You must not need to sleep much," she said, stretching and yawning. "You don't even look tired."

"I'm not."

My voice sounded more ironic than I had intended, and I hoped she was still mostly asleep. Unsurprisingly, she looked over at me suspiciously but shook her head after only a moment. She sat up on the bed, running a hand over her clothes as if to check that everything was still in place. I couldn't blame her for that.

"Um … bathroom?"

"Right through there."

She went in and closed the door. I could hear the water running and was immediately thankful I kept the place fully stocked for any … visitors I might bring home. I had put out a new toothbrush for her on the side of the sink along with some soap and towels. I heard the door open a crack and heard her brushing her teeth and washing her face.

"You took my makeup off," she said quietly.

"Yes…I…I'd heard that it can cause acne," I replied.

_Seriously?_ I asked myself, burying my face in my hands. Her tinkling laughter reached my ears as she began pulling a brush through her hair.

"Well, that's very…thoughtful of you," she said. "So what are we doing today?"

I looked up, and she was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed across her chest and pushing her breasts up tantalizingly.

"We?" I asked, mesmerized by the way the fabric bunched between the swell of her breasts.

"Oh," she murmured. Immediately, I heard the hurt in her voice. "I'm sorry … I just assumed … I'll just get my stuff and go."

_Fuck._

"I don't—I don't want you to go."

And that was how I began sharing my life with a human. I didn't fuck her that night or the night after. We just hung out. It was all inordinately ordinary and mundane … except, of course, for the fact that I wished to kill her with every pulse of her delicious blood. By rights, I should have been bored with her after the first night. I began to wonder after the third day whether she had anyone else to go to. After the fifth day, I didn't care. I was addicted to her presence and beginning to question my own sanity. Surely, nothing about this was normal. I was a vampire falling in love with a human whose blood called to me like no other I'd encountered.

***O*O*O***

_October 31, 2010_

"Edward, it's Halloween! We have to get dressed up."

She was kneeling on the bed, bouncing up and down and whining at me. And God, she was lovely in her boy shorts and crop top. Thus far, we hadn't gone farther than kissing and cuddling. I was building up my tolerance for her, and I was worried if I made love to her, I'd bite her and she'd be gone forever. My dead heart hurt, actually throbbed with pain, at that thought.

I didn't know what she thought of me, why she thought I wouldn't sleep with her. She kept saying I wasn't real, and she was getting too damn close for comfort to what I really was. She just sailed into my life and completely took it over. Now, I couldn't imagine her simply being gone. She wasn't just a fuck or some delicious blood. She was Bella. And, God help me, I was in love with her.

"Bella, I've told you before, I don't dress up for Halloween," I murmured, walking over to the bed where she knelt and capturing her in my gaze. "Besides, what's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

When my knees were touching the edge of the bed, her hands found her their way under my open shirt, and I hissed involuntarily at the searing heat of them on me. She trailed her fingers up my chest until they rested on my shoulders. Something about the way she was moving was different tonight. She was deliberate and totally fucking sexy. She bent down and ran her nose along the ridge of my stomach, up to my chest where she darted her tongue out around one of my nipples.

"You're right," she purred. "I _do_ like what you're wearing."

She scraped her teeth against my chest just hard enough that I felt the tremor, like butterfly wings against my skin, and I shivered. I ran my hands up her back, trying to be gentle but wanting her close to me. I wanted to feel her body against mine, wrapped around me. I wanted to be inside her and part of her. But could I do it without killing her? I honestly didn't know.

"Fuck, Bella," I groaned as she made her way up to my collarbone. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?"

"Of course," she murmured, her breath puffing against my skin. "A woman always knows how to please her man."

_Her man_. I shouldn't have liked the sound of that so much, but I did. I should have been wary at the way her words echoed my own, but I wasn't. My hands found their way around her ass, and I pulled her to me as her mouth found mine. Her hands were working my shirt off my shoulders, and her tongue was moving in my mouth. When her hot, wet center brushed against my cock, I was done for. I slid my hands down her legs and pulled her up to me, wrapping her legs around me.

She responded with a sigh of contentment as she settled herself over my erection, grinding ever so gently against me while her hands matched her rhythm in my hair. I wanted her … there was no question in my mind that I wanted to make her mine completely. But even just tasting her as we kissed made the venom flow. I could feel the two needs warring with each other: the need to fuck … the need to bite.

I laid her back on the bed and hovered over her. She stretched her arms out to pull me down to her, and I finally gave in, if only slightly. I dipped my head down and found the line of her chin, tracing it with my tongue. She moaned when I found her ear and sucked the lobe between my teeth.

"Yes," she whispered.

I continued along the line of her neck, tracing the pulsing jugular and feeling the blood moving beneath my tongue. I groaned, pushing harder against her skin until I could feel the pump and swish of the blood as it moved past my mouth.

"Mmm, do you feel that?" she asked.

Her words startled me and couldn't understand what she was asking. I pulled my mouth away from her neck as I tried to process her question. Did I feel how wet she was? How delicious her body felt as it writhed against me? Fuck, yes, I felt that.

"It beats for you, Edward," she moaned, arching her body and bringing her neck to my lips again.

I ground myself into her body and kissed her neck more forcefully than I dared to before. Everything she said worked to undo my careful control. I felt the fluttering pressure of her arms as she pulled me even closer to her, and I felt her angling her hips to get better friction.

I ran my nose along her collarbone, darting my tongue out against her skin as I went and feeling her hips buck against me with each lick. I pulled lightly on her top and felt it give and rip away, exposing her bare breasts to me.

"Bella, you're beautiful," I whispered, my voice shaky.

She arched her back, practically begging for contact. I cradled her soft breast in my hand, circling the already taut nipple with my nose before flattening my tongue against her. She gasped, the chill of my skin against her over-heated body, making her erupt in goose flesh. I sucked the entire peak into my mouth, groaning at the feel of her filling my mouth.

"Please, Edward, let go," she begged, and for a moment I forgot she didn't know.

I released her flesh from my mouth, and buried my head between her breasts, holding her gently to me.

"I can't," I moaned. "I'm so afraid of losing you."

"I trust you," she said simply. "I know you won't kill me."

My head snapped up, meeting her knowing eyes.

"What do you mean? Why would I kill you?"

I was back peddling. My head felt as though it was swimming in a sea of confusion.

"I know what you are, Edward. I have known for a while now."

"You can't," I said, standing up and moving too quickly away from her.

I must have looked like a blur to her, darting across the room and perching on the window seat like a gargoyle. She didn't flinch or even blink. She sat up, casting aside her ripped shirt and faced me calmly.

"You're a vampire," she said steadily.

I was too stunned to argue with her, as I should have. I just sat, dumbfounded and shook my head. How could I have missed the signs that she was this close? Even without being able to see into her mind, I should have seen _something_ to tell me that she was close to guessing.

"Don't look so surprised," she said slowly, her eyes lidded as she got off the bed.

She started walking toward me, ticking each of her observations off on her fingers as she went.

"Your eyes. They change color from red to black as you get…thirstier? Your mood changes with them, and you have more trouble being near me. You're cold as ice. Your body is as hard as stone. You never sleep and you never get tired. You want to bite me."

She stood between my legs, her cheeks colored with a blood-red blush. Her scent wafted around the room and enveloped me, and I knew my eyes were darkening in response.

"Why are you here?" I choked out. "Why haven't you run away?"

"I should think that would be clear."

She fitted herself into my embrace, placing her ear over my dead heart and tracing circles across my stomach.

"I can't leave you," she murmured softly. "I'm in love with you."

I tangled my fingers in her hair and brought her lips to mine. So achingly delicious. She pressed herself against me, pulling herself against me with every ounce of strength she possessed, and still I felt almost nothing. It grounded me in the hard reality of how fragile she really was. I pulled away from her and placed my forehead against hers.

"I could kill you just by holding you too tightly," I whispered.

"But you wouldn't."

"But I could…"

I trailed my finger along her side, making her shiver. I made the decision to scare her and convinced myself it was to save her.

"Your blood tempts me like no other I've ever encountered. The night I first saw you, when I ran away? I did so because I thought I might take you right there…in front of all those witnesses."

"But you didn't," she whispered.

"Oh, but I could have, beautiful," I sneered. "It would have been so easy. I could have whisked you away and sunk my teeth into your flesh before you even knew what had grabbed you."

"Why did you run, Edward? Why didn't you take me then?"

I looked at her, surprised at the calm with which she spoke. She was talking about me slicing into her throat with my teeth and sucking her dry. And yet, she asked me these questions as easily as if we were discussing why I chose a blue shirt today instead of a red one.

"There was…something in your eyes…shit, Bella, I don't know. Are you really asking me why I didn't kill you? Aren't you just glad that I didn't?"

"I am asking you and I _am_ glad you didn't," she said with a smirk. "But, honestly, I don't think you could do it."

"I assure you that I could."

I ran my fingertips up her body until my hand encircled her neck. I felt the fluttering of her pulse quickening beneath my touch. I could sense the way her skin became overheated with a blush as my hand grazed her skin.

"It would be so easy to just … squeeze. It would take no effort at all."

"Then go ahead, Edward," she said firmly. "Squeeze. Cut off my airway and kill me if it is so easy for you."

She held my eyes steadily with hers, never moving backward, trusting me with her life as she dared me to kill her. And I _couldn't do it_.

I sighed and wound my arms around her, pulling her gently against me.

"I love you," I murmured. "And I haven't _loved_ anything, aside from myself, in over four hundred years."

She stiffened then and I wondered if, perhaps, my age would be the breaking point.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears making her voice thick as I felt them slipping down my chest. "You've been alone for so long."

She reached her hands up between us and cupped my face between them.

"You don't have to be alone anymore."

"But I do," I answered. "We can't—I don't trust myself to stay with you, Bella. I am what I am, and as much as I may love you, I could still kill you without ever meaning to."

"Can't you change me?" she asked. "I don't want to live without you. Change me and then you won't have to worry."

I laughed at her.

"You don't even know what you're asking for," I said.

"Sure I do," she said. "Turn me into a vampire, like you."

"Bella, I have to bite you to do that … and I might not be able to stop."

"You'd stop," she said flippantly. "Edward, we belong together. Tell me what you'd do if I walked out of here tonight and you knew you'd never see me again."

Life without Bella. That was a bleak future indeed. I'd go on … there just weren't very many other options for an immortal … but it would be a passionless, meaningless existence. I'd having nothing, just like before. Only now, I knew the difference.

But eternal life with Bella? Hunting with her, living with her, traveling with her, _having_ her? Fuck, yes, I could imagine that. I'd been fantasizing about it since the first night I watched her sleep.

I lifted her off the ground and kissed her, really kissed her, for the first time. I plunged my tongue deep into her mouth, tasting her flavor on my tongue. I groaned in exquisite agony as she wrapped herself around me, pressing her bare chest against me and pulling on my hair roughly. I moved us at vampire speed over to the bed, laying her down and positioning myself between her legs. She wrapped them around me and tugged me down to her.

"The pain will be unbearable," I whispered in her ear, "and it will last for days."

"I don't care," she panted, seizing my mouth again and sucking my tongue into her mouth.

Her hands were running along my body, trailing fire as they searched and explored freely.

"You could tell me I'd die a thousand excruciating deaths, and I wouldn't care, Edward. I'd do that and more to be with you."

I cried out as she unbuttoned my pants and snaked her hand around my length, moving rhythmically with her hands and her hips, slowly drawing out the pleasure.

"Make me yours," she moaned. "Take me like this and then make me like you."

I stilled her hand and kissed her gently, touching my lips against her cheeks, her nose, her chin. She used her legs to push my pants down, and I hissed as she slid herself against my cock.

"You have no idea how badly I want this, Bella," I murmured against her neck, aware of the way her blood raced as my breath fanned her skin. "But I need to know that you understand what you're asking for. There's no going back."

She stilled and became serious immediately, looking deep into my now pitch black eyes. I saw no fear or doubt in her eyes as she spoke.

"I want to be with you. Always. That will never change. Whatever the cost, I'm willing to pay it."

"Why _this_ way?" I asked.

"Again, I'd think that would be fairly … obvious," she said, chuckling. "Days of torturous pain? I'd like a little … pleasure to balance it out."

I shuddered, remembering my own transformation.

"Nothing could balance it out, Bella," I said seriously.

"Then I want you to have all of me _this_ way before I'm … not human anymore."

"Bella, you'll still be you … only much less destructible."

She giggled, slipping her hands around my neck.

"Show me a good time before you bite me, Edward?" she asked, her voice high with laughter. "It'll make for a lovely last human memory, don't you think?"

"You likely won't remember it," I said darkly. "You likely won't remember any of this. Bella, please, look at me. What you're asking for … it's everything I want. I want to be with you forever. But understand that your concept of forever and mine are slightly … different. When I say I want you forever, I mean for _eternity_. There will be no more night for us. No more 'til death do us part.' There will be no ending. Only forever. Do you truly grasp that concept?"

"Do you doubt that I want you for that long?"

"Honestly? Yes. I can't fathom a human wanting anything for that long. Any human thoughts I've heard are so capricious."

"Thoughts you've…heard?"

"I can read minds … well, all except yours," I said, touching her nose lightly. "You've been the exception to all of my rules."

She blinked once and then began laughing softly.

"What?" I asked. "What are you thinking?"

She shook her head as her laughter came harder, tears now escaping her eyes.

"Please," I begged her, running my nose against her skin lightly. "I hate not knowing what you're thinking."

She settled herself and then looked at me soberly.

"I was just thinking how fucked up my mind must be to be unreadable by a mind-reading vampire," she said and burst out laughing again.

"You're preparing to become a blood-sucking vampire yourself, and the only concern for your sanity you have is the fact that I can't read your thoughts. Yes. You're clearly unstable."

She kicked at me ineffectually, and I pinned her lightly to the bed, laughing with her contagious giggle. As I hovered above her, though, the bubbling laughter died from my throat, and I focused totally on the closeness of her body and the way she lay prone beneath me. Completely mine. I moved my hips gently, pressing myself against her, and she moaned softly beneath me, her eyes fluttering closed. She felt so good, so right against me. I wanted to lose control in her, lose myself to the feel of her body surrounding me, but I knew I couldn't allow myself to do that. I needed to be in complete control when I bit her.

I held her hands above her head with one hand and moved my other hand along her body until I found the edge of her panties. I saw her eyes roll back in her head as I teased the flesh around the edges of her underwear, and I smiled at the pleasure I was giving her. With a flick of my wrist, the fabric was gone and she was lying naked underneath me.

I released her hands and kissed her softly at first, deepening the kiss as I brought our bodies closer together. She rubbed her sex against me, teasing the tip of my member with her heat. I hissed and pulled away, holding her hips still with one of my hands.

"You need to let me lead," I hissed at her. "I must be in control in order to do this."

I felt her bucking hips quiet as I spoke, and she looked up at me expectantly, waiting for direction or my next move. I moved my lips over her chest, gently sucking on each of her nipples until she cried out my name. I lifted her and moved her back on the bed, continuing my trail down her body.

When I reached the throbbing heat between her legs, I kissed her thighs lightly, drinking in the scent of her arousal and steeling myself to taste her. She was so ready for me, whimpering with need as I stroked my fingers against her opening.

"Shh," I whispered. "I'll give you what you want."

My cool breath pricked against her warm flesh, and she moaned again, this time begging for me to touch her more. Her words were gasps of pleasure, and each one seemed to reverberate through me, stroking my own desire. Carefully testing my control, I brought my tongue to the edge of her heat, growling as I tasted her. I stroked her slowly, carefully, feeling her quivering flesh beneath me. The sounds she was making and the feel of her on my tongue brought me nearly as much pleasure as I knew she was experiencing. I moved with her hips now, allowing her to rock with me and learning from her rhythm what she wanted.

She was all around me. I was lost in the swirl of her scent and the waves of pleasure I felt. As I brought her closer and closer to her release, I became hyperaware of the edges of my control. It was as if I could see where my breaking point was. I knew it, and I knew it didn't own me. I could beat it and I could do this. As I moved my tongue faster and faster against her, sending her over the edge, I heard her heart stutter as she came, writhing around my fingers and under my tongue, screaming out my name as she held my head where she wanted it.

I felt full of power in that moment, knowing what I had done to her, how I had made her feel. I felt certain of my ability to do what she had asked. And I saw with complete clarity what the future would hold for us. The years spanned out forever in my mind, and every day was filled with her.

Her breathing slowed, and I lifted my face away from her. Immediately, she was clawing at my arms, trying to bring me down to her and murmuring incoherently. I lowered my body, teasing her sensitive entrance with my throbbing erection. I hissed again, shocked by the heat against my skin. She lifted her hips up to me, urging me to enter her.

As she surrounded me, and I lowered my body so that we were touching everywhere, I knew that there would never be another. She owned me, completely took me over with her love and acceptance. She wrapped her legs around my hips and her arms around my neck.

"I love you," she whispered, her voice full of promise and devotion.

I thrust inside of her, focusing on the slick friction of our joining and the way my body began to adjust to her heat, warming with the contact. As we moved, the heat became more natural, less shocking. All that was left was the friction and the perfect feelings we were creating. We rocked together, her soft body molded to my stone one. I let myself go, allowing myself to feel every sensation we created as our bodies danced together. I couldn't think of anything but being inside her, feeling her tighten and clench around me and finally feeling her come apart around me as I made her come again.

"I love you," she said again as I continued to move within her.

"You are my life now," I said hoarsely as I came within her, tumbling over the edge and holding on to her for grounding.

She cried out as I came, the tremors causing another wave of pleasure to course through her. I heard her whisper against my chest, "now," and I understood it was time. Before I pulled out of her, I sank my teeth into the joining of her neck and shoulder and felt her overheated blood pulse into my mouth.

She tasted of freesias and lilacs and everything good in my life. I rocked myself inside her as I drank her in and pulled away when I knew I had taken enough, not feeling any regret at having to pull away. I felt her loss as soon as I pulled out of her and licked the wound at her neck, healing it with my venom. That was when she screamed.

The sound wracked through my body like a thousand tiny flames licking at my skin. I sank to her side, pulling her close to me as she screamed again and began to writhe. I hoped that the chill of my body would soothe the fire coursing through her veins. Her back arched unnaturally, and then she fell back to the bed, deathly silent.

I scrambled up and over her, searching her face desperately for some sign of the change going on within her. The only sounds in the room were my futile rustling around the bed and the thick, heavy beat of a changing heart. I couldn't ask the lord for help in what I'd just done … I knew too well that this was none of his business. I sat naked and cross-legged next to Bella, holding her limp hand in mine and staring helplessly at her. Though the sounds of her pain drove me insane as I imagined her burning, I feared her silence even more. I waited, counting her heartbeats and waiting for the moment when her heart would cease to beat. As I sat watching her silent transformation, I knew we were balanced on the edge of forever, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with the many directions we could fall.

***O*O*O***

**_A/N: And there you have it. I know from a number of PMs after I announced I was entering this contest that most of you guessed other stories that might have been mine. I apologize for not being able to answer those PMs with anything more than "hmm...interesting." I'm well aware that this is vastly different from anything I've written on here before. But that's OK. I wanted very much to explore a different side of the characters than I had in the past. Edward is lovely as a sweet, innocent human or a perfect vegetarian vampire, but there is something dark and primal and wonderful about traditional vampires and I very much enjoy writing *that* part of him as well. I hope you enjoy this. I have plans to expand this story after I finish my FGB stuff. I'd like to explore this Edward more, see his past as well as his future with Bella. I'd also like to delve a bit more into Bella's character. Let me know what you think! :) *mwah* ~Jen_**


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